Garsdale

There seems to be a May holiday weekend tradition that every hiker with something to prove descends on the Three Peaks region of the Dales.  Not surprisingly, despite wind, hail, and a complete lack of training, long lines of gortex-clade pilgrims made their slow painful journey from Whernside to Ingleborough and from there on to Pen-y-ghent...  much complaining could be heard, as muscles that lay unused over the long winter were forced up one side of the mountain and then trudged painfully down the other...

In contrast, the quiet valley of Garsdale just to the north had nary a visitor...  just peaceful hiking, inquisitive ponies, and wildflowers waking to a late spring.

Primulus vulgaris, the common primrose could be seen in abundance in the low-lying portion of the valley, while Butterbur (Petasites hybridus) below was still in bloom in the marshy regions near the road.  In the Dales spring seems to have come late, as this plant has lost its bloom elsewhere.